Love is Blind
by Gwyn Just
Summary: But that doesn't mean it isn't real. Iggy x original character. PLEASE read and review! Once I get 5 reviews, I'll post the next chapter, which is ready and waiting! This is probably going to end kinda sadly, sorry. Mild SOF spoilers.
1. Something

As soon as Iggy walked into his Algebra class, he sensed something. Not an oh-crap-its-an-eraser something… just a something. His fingertips barely touched Fang's belt loop as he walked towards their seats. He hated this, having to follow Fang around like a dog or something, relying on him. But being in school, around tons of other kids, was so noisy and strange that he had no choice; he could hardly think straight. That's why this sudden, clear sense of _something_ bothered him. What was it? He scratched the back of his neck absently, trying to push the thought of it out of his mind.

"Today's lesson will be about solving quadratic equations. These equations are formed…" the old algebra teacher bantered on in a nasally voice, while Iggy did his best to concentrate. Hate is a strong word. Iggy hated school. The noise, the confusion, with so many other _people_ around him… it was so uncomfortable. Even from a purely academic standpoint, school wasn't working for him. Teachers lectured like automatons and handed out homework, la-di-dah… But they didn't seem to notice much, didn't seem to care much. Iggy was curious; he wanted to learn about quadratic equations and hydrogen sulfide and the War of 1812 and biomes. But sitting through eight lectures that nearly bored him to tears per day… that wasn't what he wanted. Sighing, he tried to focus, but that _something_ kept nagging at him. On the edge of his consciousness, to the… right, he decided, was an aura, an energy. He could even feel it, vaguely; it made his fingertips tingle.

He snapped out of his reverie as he heard Fang, who was sitting behind him, shift to his right and whisper something. Iggy couldn't make out the words; Fang must have cupped a hand over his mouth. Then he jumped slightly as he felt Fang tap him twice on the shoulder. Iggy tensed. Incoming! Crap.

Though he had been warned, Iggy nearly jumped out of his skin as he felt a hand touch his right arm. He her a little gasp, then a girl's voice whisper, "Sorry! I'm Rae. I didn't know how else to… say hi… without speaking up, and then Mr. Snodworth…" She trailed off, but her hand was still touching Iggy's arm. "I'll talk to ya later?" Rae whispered.

"Yeah," Iggy whispered back, nodding. So _that's_ what he was sensing. Rae must have been looking at him.

oOo

"Dude, she couldn't take her eyes off you." Iggy and Fang were sitting in the cafeteria, at the most unpopulated table they could find, poking at mushy blobs that were supposed to be chicken nuggets and sodden green beans. Normally they would have dug in without complaining, not knowing when or where they would get their next meal. But now, even Anne's burnt concoctions were better than this. "I mean, she kept trying to catch your eye, and stuff," said Fang, descriptive as ever.

"What does she look like?"

"I dunno, about a head shorter than you, with chin-length blondish hair... her eyes were… I dunno, hazel? Blue-gray? Why? What does it matter?"

"It matters!" Iggy shouted too loudly. Some girls at the next table looked up at him, giggling. "Okay, okay, sorry man." But Fang smirked. This could only mean one thing…

Fang tapped Iggy's wrist twice. Incoming! Iggy snapped to full alert. Someone was standing beside him. "Um, could I sit here?" It was Rae, and by the sound of her voice, Iggy could tell that she was a bit uncomfortable. "I mean, if not, that's okay…"

Iggy shook his head quickly. "No, it's cool. You can sit here."

"Thanks." Rae sat down next to Iggy, making sure to brush his arm as she did so. It was unnecessary; Iggy was aware of her every move. The way she tapped her index finger on the table in the awkward silence, how she brushed a strand of hair away from her eyes, even how she quickly licked her lips before speaking. "So, um, sorry about back there… in algebra. I… didn't mean to freak you out."

"It's fine. It's just tough." What was he saying?! How could he expect her to understand?! Fang was glad that Iggy couldn't see him raised a bemused eyebrow.

"Totally… I can't even imagine!" said Rae. "Were you… were you born blind?" She bit her lip. "I'm sorry, I didn't…"

"It's fine," Iggy said for the third time, "I was born sighted, but I went blind a long time ago."

"Oh wow, that's even worse, I bet." Iggy was relieved that Rae didn't ask how it had happened. But oddly, he didn't resent her questions. He stumbled inwardly, trying to find something cool, something funny to say… "So, the food here's pretty gnarly, huh?" Fang smirked, Rae blushed. _Food?!_ thought Iggy. _There were a million things he could've said, and he chose to talk about the freakin' cafeteria menu?!_

"Yeah, pretty gross. I bring my own lunch. I'm a vegetarian."

"Huh." Rae was interesting. Iggy WISHED he could see her…

The bell rang. Iggy held in a sigh. "Well… I guess I'll see ya around?" Rae blushed again at her inconsiderate choice of words, but Iggy heard the smile in her voice.

"Uh-huh."

Iggy and Fang met Max in the hallway. "How are you guys doing?" she asked. That was Max; always looking out for her flock, even the members that were her own age. "Stupendous," Fang intoned sarcastically, then looked sideways at Iggy. "Especially Ig…"

"Shut up!" Iggy hissed before Fang could continue, throwing a light punch that caught Fang in the gut. Iggy heard him snicker, then start to walk away. Iggy started and worked to find Fang's footsteps in the sea of noise, stumbling to catch up with him.

oOo

Iggy couldn't concentrate. American Literature was one of his better subjects, but his mind was anywhere but on the life of Emily Dickenson. Rae was in this class too; two rows to the left, three seats in front of him. He knew; he had heard her answer questions every day since they had started here. Why hadn't he noticed her before? He cocked his head, trying to catch the sound of her tapping her fingers on her desk, the sound of her gasping quietly when she knew the answer, just like she did in Algebra. What was wrong with him?? He hadn't even felt like this with Tess…

**Chapter 2 Preview:**

_How does a blind boy dream?_


	2. Dream

Author's Note: Potterfan, Pegasus, Dreamer, Isabella, and Jeisa... thanx for the reviews! You guys rock! Here's your reward! People, please continue to review! After another 5, I'll post chapter 3.

Disclaimer: Sorry I forgot about this in chapter one; I do not own Maximum Ride, the original story line, or any of the characters. However, the plot of this story and Rae are mine! :-)

_How does a blind boy dream?_

Why, in hi-def, wide-screen color, of course.

Iggy was standing on a cliff, looking out upon a vast ocean. He was holding the hand of a girl who was a head shorter than him, with honey-colored hair and eyes that were hazel when she laughed and blue-gray when she cried. She squeezed his hand, and together they leapt off the cliff. Iggy snapped out his wings to catch himself; the girl didn't have wings, but she glided with him, regardless. They soared out over the ocean, and her hair blew back from her face, her laughter gone with the wind. They flew on forever; the sun sank into the sea and the stars came out around them, but they flew on, never tiring. But then, after a much-too-short eternity, the sun began to rise, and their hands slipped. Iggy stopped and hovered, trying to grab her back, But she was falling, falling forever towards the waves, with an expression of pain on her face that Iggy wished he'd never seen.

A loud beeping rang through the quiet. Iggy slammed a fist down on the snooze button. Groaning, he shoved himself up on his elbows. Waking up was always weird. There was a split second between sleeping and waking where he expected to open his eyes and see the inside of a dog crate. But when he opened his eyes, he saw nothing. And he always seemed to be in a place that was a hell of a lot better than a dog crate. Like Fang always said: win some, lose some.

"Dude, you haven't been like that in a while." It was Fang, who was standing fully dressed by the door.

"Huh?"

"You were tossing around, groaning."

"Whatever." Iggy heard Fang move towards the bed, felt him sit on the foot of it, perched like a hawk. Iggy thought he heard Fang chuckle. "Ig, you really should ask Rae out."

"What?!" Iggy was awake now, wide awake.

"Come on, she's totally into you."

"Are you crazy?? How am supposed to do that?! What if we were ambushed by erasers or something? They'd kill her! And me too, probably! I can't be without one of you guys. And there's no way in heck I'd want you with us!!" There. The truth was finally out. Iggy didn't think he could take on an enemy alone, especially one that knew his weakness. And he didn't want to put Rae in that kind of danger. He couldn't. Fang hadn't spoken; this was something he hadn't considered.

"Dang. Didn't think of that."

"Yeah, I noticed."

"Geez, that sucks."

"Ya think??"

Fang sighed. Truth be told, he felt really bad for Iggy. He felt like scum for getting to hang out with Lissa by himself, knowing he could take on a couple of erasers if it came to that. "Well, another day in the H-E-double toothpicks they call 'high school' is waiting. Best get going." Fang got up and left the room.

"Thanks for your support," Iggy muttered as Fang left. Fang had summed it up; this sucked. It took every bit of Iggy's self-control to keep him from punching the wall. Instead, he climbed out of bed and headed for the shower, wryly hoping that Max was finished there, so he wouldn't have to talk to anybody.

oOo

Fang and Iggy were standing outside the cafeteria, waiting to check on Angel as she headed in for lunch. Max had made up a plan (as Max always did); the six of them compared schedules, found times when they would be passing each other, and planned to check in with each other multiple times during the day. So they stood among a sea of little students, who were stampeding for the lunchroom like starving cattle, and looking for a familiar little face in the crowd. Angel, with her bouncing blond curls multiple inches above the rest, waved at them. "How's it going?" Fang asked.

""Great!" said Angel in her sweet little girl voice.

"Hi guys!" Another figure waded through the second graders. It was Rae. Iggy's mind snapped into nervous overtime. "Is this your little sister?" Rae asked, gesturing to Angel.

"I'm Ariel. Ig... Jeff's little sister."

"Pleased to meet you, Angel," said Rae, extending her hand for Angel to shake.  
"Do you wanna come over to our house after school?" Angel asked sweetly. Iggy froze. _What the heck?!_ Angel must have read his mind. Rae blushed a little, smiled (Iggy was SURE he heard it) glanced from Fang to Iggy (he felt it, definitely) and back to Angel. "Um, sure, if you're sure..."

"We're sure," Angel said. "Aren't we, Iggy?"

Iggy's mouth had gone drier than the hot dog bun he managed to choke down at lunch. "Uh, su-sure," he managed.

"Cool. Where do you guys live?" Iggy was relieved when Fang started giving her _visual_ directions. When he finished, Rae thanked him. Then she touched Iggy's hand. His heart jumped to his throat, skipping at least a couple beats. "Talk to ya then?" she said quietly.

"Uh-huh," Iggy replied, blind eyes attempting to follow her as she walked away. "Well, looks like you got your wish, big guy," Fang said, smirking. "Except the part about us not being there. Minor details." Fang chuckled to himself, but Angel took Iggy's hand and whispered, "Don't worry, Iggy. She wanted it too."

oOo

**CHAPTER THREE PREVIEW:**

"Geez, nervous much?" Max asked sarcastically.


End file.
